Havas acquires Mr Smith in New Zealand

Havas Group has announced its acquisition of New Zealand advertising agency Mr Smith.

The Auckland-based agency will rebrand as Havas New Zealand with immediate effect, with Mr Smith founding partners John O’Leary (CEO) and Ben Handy (chief creative officer) remaining in charge.

Havas New Zealand will report into the Havas Australia executive leadership team of Mike Wilson, James Wright and Anthony Gregorio.

The agency’s clients include Emirates, Firth, Flooring Xtra, GBC Winstone, JDE, Les Mills International, Philips Lighting and Southern Cross Hospitals.

Havas New Zealand specialises in programmatic digital media, channel strategy, offline media planning, and multi-platform content creation and production.

“Havas is a forward thinking, content-inspired company whose beliefs align strongly with ours," said O’Leary. "In Europe and the US, Havas clients are having conversations with agency heads, asking for a better agency/client model where all services are provided within a single office, with content at the core."

Handy said: “We have seen Havas clients successfully get connected and cohesive brand collusion using this model rather than the fractured process and work that you see across multiple platforms now."